Vocaloid Soup
by apricat
Summary: Different stories about Vocaloid and some Utau, all taking place on the same day. Rated T because I'm not sure what will happen in the future. My first fanfiction.
1. Chapter 1: VY2 Yuuma

"What's that?" Gumi asked, looking at the sword Kaito was carrying. It was black and slightly curved, with colorful decorations on its hilt.

"It's a wakizashi sword," Kaito answered. "Master gave it to me to put in my room. I'm going to hang it up on the wall."

"It looks really cool!" said Gumi, following Kaito up the stairs. "I'll help you hang it up."

As the two were walking down the hall towards Kaito's room, they saw Miku outside hers. She turned as she heard them approach. "Hey," she said. "Look what Master gave me!" She showed them a pale pink fan decorated with flowers. "Isn't it pretty?"

"It is," Gumi agreed. "But why did Master give you and Kaito presents?"

Miku shrugged. "I don't know. But Master said that the fan can't be put in a boy's room."

"And Master told me that I can't put this sword in a girl's room either," Kaito added.

"That's kind of weird," Gumi remarked.

"Anyway, I guess we should go hang this up now," Kaito said to Miku. He and Gumi went down a couple doors to Kaito's room. Gumi opened the door for Kaito, who was carefully holding the sword in both hands. He put the sword down on his bed and dug around in his pockets. He took out two black hooks.

"Can you get a screwdriver and a couple of nails from the toolbox in the closet?" he asked Gumi.

"Sure," she answered. She brought the toolbox over to Kaito. "Where did you get those hooks from?"

"Master gave them to me with the sword," Kaito replied. He stood back and surveyed the wall opposite from his bed. "I think I'll hang it…there." He held the hooks to the wall as Gumi screwed them in. Then he lifted the sword into the hooks.

"Perfect!" Gumi said, admiring how the black sword appeared in front of the pale blue walls. "Hey, how about we go get some ice cream to reward ourselves for our hard work?"

"Ice cream!" Kaito cheered enthusiastically. He and Gumi raced out of his room and down the stairs.

A few weeks passed, and the sword became a familiar decoration on Kaito's wall. He sometimes looked at it, but it mostly went unnoticed.


	2. Chapter 1 part 2

Kaito sleepily rolled over and stopped his alarm. He tried to dig himself deeper into his blanket, but he couldn't get comfortable. There was something hard poking him in the side.

Finally, Kaito sat up and looked at the thing. It was a shoe. How had that gotten there? It definitely wasn't his shoe. His shoes were blue or white. This one was black and pink. He looked up, wondering where it came from, and let out a strange squeaking noise.

There was someone in front of him. The sword had disappeared. The hooks on his wall, which had held the sword, were tangled in the stranger's white jacket. Kaito and the stranger stared at each other for a minute. He noticed that the stranger only had one shoe on.

"Uh, is this yours?" Kaito asked awkwardly, holding up the shoe.

"Yeah," said the stranger. "I tried to wake you up, but you wouldn't. So I kicked off my shoe. It hit you, but you still wouldn't wake up."

"Who are you?" Kaito asked.

"I'm VY2 Yuuma, a Vocaloid," answered the stranger. "Can you get me down from here?" Kaito realized that the other boy couldn't move his arms because of the hooks stuck in the back of his jacket. He got out of bed and untangled him.

"Thanks," said VY2, rubbing his shoulders. Kaito was still confused, but at least he knew who VY2 was now.

"Um, do you want to get breakfast?" Kaito inquired.

"Ok," VY2 replied. He and Kaito went downstairs, Kaito still wondering where the other Vocaloid had come from.

The Crypton Vocaloids, plus Gumi and Gakupo, were already eating breakfast, except for the Kagamines, who were playing video games under the table. There was another girl there that Kaito didn't know. Miku glanced over at Kaito, who had somehow squeezed in two more chairs at the cramped table.

"Hi, Kaito!" she said cheerfully. "Hey, who's that?"

"I'm VY2 Yuuma. I'm a Vocaloid," the pink haired boy answered.

The new girl spoke up. "We're from the same company. I'm VY1 Mizki!"

"Remember the fan that I got from Master?" Miku added. "I put it on the table next to my bed. And then Mizki woke me up this morning. It's a good thing I decided not to put that fan in a case!" Across the table, Gumi looked a bit worried, probably remembering how she and Kaito had hung the sword from hooks.

"Yuuma was stuck in the hooks that I hung the sword from," Kaito said, answering Gumi's unspoken question.

"Sorry about that," Gumi said to Yuuma.

"It's okay," Yuuma answered.

"Hey, why are you…not a sword now?" Kaito asked him, passing him some toast.

"There was a contest to make a design for us," Mizki explained, watching Yuuma attack the toast. "So now we have fan-made bodies. But we're still officially a sword and a fan." She brushed back her hair and took a sip of milk.

Gakupo had been staring at Yuuma for a while now.

"What?" Yuuma asked.

"You're a guy, right?" Gakupo said eagerly.

"Uh, yes," replied Yuuma.

"How old are you supposed to be?"

"I'm a sword."

"But you're still a guy."

"Yeah…?"

Suddenly Gakupo let out a cheer. "Finally, another guy who can hang out with me and Kaito!" He had a huge grin on his face.

"Hey!" Len said, glancing up from the video game.

"Sorry," Gakupo answered. "It's just that you're supposed to be fourteen, so we can't really do much." He smiled apologetically.

"Mmph. Whatever," Len returned his attention to his game, where Rin had just killed his character.

"So anyway," Gakupo grinned at Yuuma. "How about you, me, and Kaito go out after breakfast? Just us…older guys! We can show you around!" Yuuma looked confused. Gakupo looked a bit anxious, but then Yuuma smiled.

"Okay."

**Note: So, I don't think there will be much romance, except maybe by accident. I'm just not good at that, and I can never decide who to ship. This will probably be more of a friendship story. Anyway, next is Oliver. Maybe he'll see Yuuma and co. walking around or something. I used the designs that won the VocaFes contest, Roro and Kobushi Kiku, for VY2 and VY1.**


	3. Chapter 2: Oliver

_Oliver_

The door to the Crypton Vocaloids' house creaked open slowly, and a young blond boy came inside. He put his suitcase down and looked around. It seemed that nobody was home.

"Hello?" Oliver called. He heard some noises coming from another room.

"Len! You're supposed to be backing me up!"

"But you just keep charging at the boss, Rin…"

Oliver went towards the voices and found a kitchen. Two blond kids were playing video games at a table with too many chairs. A woman with pink hair was putting plates and cups in the washing machine. She noticed Oliver and gasped.

"You must be the new English Vocaloid who was coming over! With what happened this morning, we all forgot!"

"I-it's okay," Oliver said, looking around. "Um, are you Luka? I was told to look for Luka."

"Yes," answered Luka. "Sorry about this, Oliver. I'll help you with your luggage and show you to your room." Oliver fetched his suitcase and followed her to a white-walled bedroom. There was a pile of random objects in the corner. Luka hurriedly started stuffing the items in a closet.

"This room isn't normally used, so we keep putting our old things in it," Luka explained. "We would have cleaned it up, but certain things distracted us this morning." Oliver set his suitcase down beside the bed and went to help Luka.

"No, don't worry," she said. "You're our guest." She raised her voice.

"Rin! Len!" There was a sound of running feet, and the two blond kids were at the door.

"Can you two show Oliver around the city? I have to record a song after this, and everyone else has already gone out."

"Sure," said the boy. He and the girl pulled Oliver outside.

"I'm Rin Kagamine, and he's Len Kagamine," the girl happily introduced herself.

"Are you twins? You look the same," Oliver observed. "Or do you just have the same name?"

"That's a secret!" Rin and Len said in unison. They high-fived each other. "We practiced that."

"By the way, what happened to your eye?" Len asked. Oliver touched the bandage over his eye and shrugged.

"I was just designed that way," he answered. "Like how Big Al has scars and Sweet Ann has stitches." As they walked down the street, Oliver noticed that although many people smiled and waved, no one looked like they were especially excited to see the Vocaloids.

"I thought that you would always be chased by an army of fans," Oliver said. "Your songs are so popular."

"I guess that after a while, people get used to living with famous people," Rin waved to a middle-aged woman watering some flowers. "It was really bad when we first came here."

"But the only people we're worried about now are the tourists," Len continued. "Half of them come just to find us. It's nice that they like us, but, well…" The Kagamines stopped in front of a tall glassy building. "We're here!"

"What's this building?" Oliver asked. He tilted his head back to look up at the huge walls. The windows reflected drifting clouds.

"This is where we record our songs!" Rin jumped up on a stone bench and waved her arm at the building. "Isn't it awesome?"

"It is," Oliver nodded. He sat down on the bench, noticing that the people going in and out of the doors were all people he had heard about before. The cars that the people were getting into looked really shiny and fancy as well. The only thing that looked out of place was a round, bright blue bus nearly hidden behind some trees.

Len suddenly tugged on Rin's shirt so that she fell off the bench.

"Hey!" she protested. Len pressed his finger to his lips as he gazed at the garishly colored bus. Rin followed his eyes and turned pale.

"Um," she squeaked. "Sorry, Oliver, we have to go somewhere else now."

"What happened?" Oliver asked, worried.

Rin pointed to the bus. "That's a tour bus. Probably full of rabid fans." The Kagamines dragged Oliver away, trying to look as unassuming as they could.

They were too late. A teenage girl with dyed-blond hair hopped off the bus and squealed, pointing.

"AHHHH! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! IT'S THE KAGAMINES!" Her scream was the kind that started avalanches. People began pouring out of the bus, most of them shrieking. Rin and Len started running as fast as they could. Oliver tried to keep up, but he was overtaken by the wave of fans. Len pulled on Rin's sleeve and said something. She looked over her shoulder at Oliver, who had managed to push his way out of the mob and back to the stone bench.

"Don't worry, Oliver! We'll come back for you!" Rin yelled. She and Len sprinted up the street, tailed by the screaming horde of fans.

"Uh…" Oliver plopped down on the bench, dazed. He adjusted his hat. "What just happened?"


	4. Chapter 2 part 2

Oliver sat on the bench for a while, not sure what he should do. He watched people going past, but eventually he became bored and got up. When he asked someone what the time was, he learned it was noon.

Oliver aimlessly chose a path that took him behind the huge building. The sun was shaded by the leafy trees that arched overhead, making a dappled pattern on the ground. He was surprised that such a quiet, green place was inside the city. Was it a park?

Something flew at Oliver suddenly. He caught it before it hit him in the head. It was a red rubber ball. He looked around, trying to see where it had come from. A little girl ran out from the trees, a guilty expression on her face and leaves all over her skirt. Oliver bounced the ball to her. She caught it.

"Thanks!" she said. "Um, I wasn't trying to hit you. Sorry."

"What were you aiming at?" asked Oliver, scanning the area behind him.

"My classmate, Ryuto," the girl pouted. "He always messes with me! He threw my ball over there." She glared at the bushes and trees behind Oliver, which looked pretty funny with her childish face. "I can see you, you know, Ryuto!"

Oliver walked over to the clump of plants and peered into it. He couldn't see anything.

"Roar!" A giant green lizard exploded from the bush, shedding twigs and leaves like water.

"Ah!" Oliver jumped backward. The little girl stomped up to the bush.

"Stop doing that, Ryuto!" she said to the lizard, and pulled off its head.

"Aw," said the boy wearing a lizard costume. "I was trying to scare you, Yuki."

"It doesn't work when you've done it ten times before." Yuki passed Ryuto the lizard head. "Look, you've scared this guy over here." She pointed at Oliver, who felt as if his heart had stopped working for a second. Ryuto waved to him.

"Are you a Vocaloid?" Ryuto asked. "I think I saw you in a magazine before. We're Vocaloids too." Oliver nodded. He hadn't known that he was in a magazine.

"Stop reading my magazines!" Yuki told Ryuto. "You put them all over the place. And you cut up the backs."

"I was looking for the ads!" Ryuto protested. "Sometimes they have stuff for dinosaurs."

"Uh, which magazine is this?" Oliver asked. Ryuto turned slightly red.

Yuki answered. "_Fluffy Kawaii 39,_" she said, looking hard at Ryuto. "Sometimes they have articles about new Vocaloids."

"Really?" Oliver said politely. He made a mental note to ask someone back home how he'd gotten in a magazine over here.

"A-anyway, since you're a Vocaloid, you could visit our school!" Ryuto proposed, climbing out of the bushes.

"Oh yeah!" Yuki's face lit up. "Our school's just over there! Please come!"

"Wait, what time is it?" Ryuto turned to Yuki.

"Why are you asking me?"

"It's a bit past noon," Oliver remembered.

"Oh," Ryuto said. "Then we're in the middle of lunch." Both children turned towards the direction of the path, towing Oliver with them.

At the end of the leafy path was a medium-sized stone building. It was in a round clearing surrounded by trees.

"We are still in the city, right?" Oliver asked.

"Mm-hm," Yuki answered. "But our school has to be close to where we record songs, and our teacher said that they didn't want us to be chased by people, 'cause tourists visit the city a lot."

"That makes sense," Oliver recalled the screaming mob that was possibly still chasing the Kagamines. Ryuto ran up and opened the door, which was slightly ajar. A couple water balloons fell and splashed on the ground. Yuki glared at Ryuto.

"Wow, I wonder who put those there!" Ryuto laughed nervously. Yuki made an annoyed noise and pushed past him. Oliver entered behind them.


	5. Chapter 2 part 3

The children led Oliver down a white-walled corridor and into an open door. A dark-haired man was inside, sitting at a desk and looking through papers.

"Hi, Mr. Hiyama!" Yuki bounced over to him. He smiled and adjusted his glasses.

"Oh, hi, Yuki. Isn't it lunch break right now?"

"We found this person. His name is Oliver. He's a Vocaloid like us!"

"You're a Vocaloid too?" Oliver was surprised. Apparently this city was full of them.

"Yes. I'm Kiyoteru Hiyama, Yuki and Ryuto's teacher," said Hiyama. "Luka texted me a little while ago. She said that you lost the Kagamines?"

"They kind of…got chased away by fans," Oliver said.

"Can Oliver stay with us for the rest of the day?" Ryuto asked. Hiyama turned toward him.

"If he-why are you in a lizard costume?"

"It's a dinosaur!" Ryuto said indignantly. "Please can Oliver stay with us?"

"If he wants to," Hiyama looked at Oliver questioningly.

"Please?" Yuki put her hand in his.

"Of course," Oliver replied. He couldn't resist the children at all.

For the rest of the afternoon, Oliver stayed in the school with Ryuto, Yuki, and Hiyama. He played with the younger Vocaloids and helped them with their schoolwork. As the late afternoon light began turning golden, Oliver began wondering when they would be going home.

"We live here," Yuki said when he asked her.

"In the school?"

"It's too big for three people," Ryuto chimed in, putting his lizard head on. "We live in the part of it that's not school."

"But today's a special day," Yuki continued. Ryuto nodded vigorously.

"What do you mean?"

"We're having a party today," Yuki beamed. "There was a concert or something. So we're having a party to celebrate."

"It was somebody's first concert," added Ryuto.

"Wow, really? Whose?"

"We don't know," said Ryuto. "But we get to stay up late. And the other Vocaloids will come."

"They're all coming here?" Oliver knew that there were a lot of Vocaloids. He wasn't sure that they would all fit in the school.

"No," Yuki ran over to the window. "We're going to go over there." She motioned towards a grassy hill a short way away.

"Wait, aren't we in a city?"

"Yes, but there's a big park in the middle of it," Hiyama said, entering the room. He was dragging a suitcase. "The school is on the outskirts of the park."

"You're coming too," Ryuto told Oliver.

"I am?"

"Of course you are," Hiyama looked at his watch. "There's still several hours before we have to go. You can get ready here. Half of this building is a house, after all." He gestured at the suitcase he was holding. "Luka came by and dropped off your suitcase."

"I'll show you where the house side is!" Yuki volunteered. She dashed out of the classroom.

"Thank you!" Oliver couldn't think of anything else to say. He picked up his suitcase and ran out the door, trying to catch up with Yuki.

* * *

**Note: I think I'm going to try to write the same day from different Vocaloids' point of views. Also, Ryuto's costume is Gachapin. And I changed the description.**


	6. Chapter 3: Miku

_Miku_

* * *

Miku stood in the checkout line, holding a bag full of groceries. She leaned over to see how many people were in front of her. There were four more to go. She sighed. She wouldn't have picked this line, but all the others were longer. She switched the bag over to her other hand, since her arm was getting tired.

"Hi, Miku!" a voice called out. Miku turned around and saw Gumi in the canned food aisle. She was also hefting a bag of groceries.

"Hi," Miku smiled. "Are you shopping for the party too?"

"Yeah," Gumi answered cheerfully. "I think I'm going to make soup."

"From a can?"

"No, I've got other stuff," Gumi held up her bag. "What are you bringing?"

"I still don't know what I'm going to bring," Miku said. "I'll probably go through one of Luka's cookbooks and try to make whatever I find."

"You've got enough in that bag to cook whatever you want," Gumi observed, looking at the bulging bag Miku carried.

"I guess so," Miku swung the bag back and forth a little.

"Hey, it's your turn to check out," Gumi noticed. Miku turned back to the line and realized that she was the only one there. The blonde cashier looked pretty annoyed.

"Huh? Oh, sorry. See you, Gumi," Miku hurriedly dumped her bag on the conveyor. "Sorry," she said to the cashier.

"Whatever," the cashier flicked her long side ponytail over her shoulder and picked up the first of Miku's groceries.

Miku paid for her food and walked home. When she got there, she put her groceries on the kitchen table and took a few cookbooks out of the cupboard where Luka had neatly stacked them. She opened the refrigerator to see what the others had made. The Kagamines had made fruit salad, and Luka had made sushi. There was nothing there from Meiko or Kaito. Meiko probably would rush to whip up something at the last minute, and Kaito would most likely make something with Gakupo. Miku closed the fridge and flipped through the cookbooks, but she still couldn't choose what to do. She shut the book she was reading with a bang and went out for a walk.

Miku wandered around the city for a little while. Once she saw Kaito, Gakupo, and Yuuma go into a café. She wondered if she should join them, but decided not to. She went down a little side street and emerged at a small plaza.

The plaza was empty. There was nobody sitting on the benches, and there was nobody strolling about. No one was going into the shops around the area. Miku entered one of the shops and asked where everyone had gone.

"A few minutes ago, I saw everyone rush over to the fountain over there," answered one of the employees, pointing. Miku thanked him and left the store.

As Miku came closer to the fountain, she heard someone singing. Miku forced herself through the crowd surrounding the fountain and saw a red-haired girl her own age standing on its rim. Her voice sounded like a Vocaloid's. Miku listened to the song, which was coming to an end. Soon, the mysterious girl stopped singing.

"Hi, everyone!" the girl called out. "I'm Teto Kasane, the newest Vocaloid, and I'll be making my debut soon! I hope that you'll support me when I do!"

The crowd cheered. Many people began taking pictures of the Vocaloid with their phones. Teto beamed and hopped off the fountain. She gave a final wave to the crowd and left. Miku tailed her, trying not to make it seem too obvious.

"Why are you following me?" Teto demanded suddenly, whirling around. Her eyes widened. "M-miku Hatsune!"

Miku smiled sheepishly. "Hi. So…you're a new Vocaloid?" It was possible, she supposed. After all, Yuuma and Mizki had arrived without any warning.

"Well…It would be nice if I was," Teto said in an embarrassed voice. Her hands fidgeted uncomfortably with her red tie.

"What?" Miku asked. "Then why'd you tell those people that you were?"


	7. Chapter 3 part 2

Teto looked down at her feet and shrugged. "I don't know," she answered. "I just was standing there in front of all those people and then I blurted it out. Sorry about that."

Miku could tell that Teto really did feel sorry that she had lied. "Don't worry," she told her. "It's not like you told the whole world or something." She wanted to cheer Teto up. "Anyway, your singing sounded amazing! I'm sure that you'll get lots of fans in the future! You don't have to be a Vocaloid."

Teto smiled a little. "Thanks," she replied. "But Vocaloids are still the best, I think."

"But what are you, if you're not a Vocaloid?" Miku was puzzled. "I can tell you're not human."

"I'm an UTAU," Teto almost seemed embarrassed to admit it. "We're kind of like you, but we don't cost anything."

"Really? How many UTAUs are there?" Miku didn't know why Teto looked ashamed. They were nearly the same, weren't they?

"I don't know," said Teto. "There are so many. New people keep coming all the time."

"That seems like it would be nice," Miku was imagining a crowd of Tetos. "Maybe one day there'll be that many Vocaloids."

Teto laughed a little. "We'd fill up the whole city." She stopped looking at the floor. "You know, you're different from how I thought you would be."

"What did you think I was like?"

"Um…I was thinking that you'd be like some kind of really princessy person. Like the kind of person who looked down on everybody else."

"Huh? Why'd you think that?"

"You're so popular, and you have so many famous songs." Teto was now talking easily with Miku and smiling.

"Is that what everyone thinks of me…?" Miku suddenly caught sight of a clock through a shop's open door. "Ah! Is it really that late already?"

"Are you late for something?"

"Yeah! I have to make some food for this party tonight!"

"I'll help you," Teto seemed surprised at what she was saying. "What are you going to make?"

"I don't know!"

"How about bread?"

"Anything would be fine right now," Miku was mentally kicking herself for not realizing sooner how late it was. She registered what Teto had said. "Wait, you're going to help me?"

"I'm good at baking."

"Won't your friends, or…anyone be worried about you going off with some random girl?"

"They'll be okay with it, I think," Teto had taken out a cell phone and started texting. "They're all UTAUs too. Besides, you're Miku Hatsune! Okay, I've told them." She put the cell phone into her pocket. "So, where do you Vocaloids live, anyway?"

Miku led Teto up the street and to the Crypton Vocaloids' house. Teto looked at the brown building in surprise.

"You know, a lot of people think you live up in a giant castle or something," Teto remarked. "How do you all fit in here?"

"This is just the Crypton Vocaloids' house," Miku opened the door. "Hey, someone forgot to lock this. Anyway, the others live in different places. I think Ryuto moved out of Gumi and Gakupo's place to live with Yuki and Hiyama." She and Teto entered the house. Miku showed her new friend over to the kitchen and opened the bag of groceries still sagging on the table.

"You've got something of everything," Teto looked at the mess of ingredients. "This must have cost a fortune."

Miku shrugged awkwardly, not wanting to say that she was so rich that the cost barely mattered. "So, we're making bread, right?"

"French bread," Teto was taking off her detached sleeves and washing her hands in the sink. "I love French bread."

Miku started going through Luka's cookbooks again. Teto came over to her and pointed to a recipe. "How about this one?"

"Okay," Miku replied. "I don't really know much about baking." She read the recipe and began taking out measuring cups and bowls from a cupboard, setting them on the table. "Everything we need is in that grocery bag."

* * *

**Note: This is as much as I can write today-it's already past midnight. Sorry about the parts being split up. By the way, does anyone have any suggestions for how I can improve my writing?**


	8. Chapter 3 part 3

When Teto helped Miku mix together the ingredients, Miku was surprised at how soft and smooth the dough had become. Miku had occasionally tried to bake for the other Vocaloids, but everything she did usually resulted in an inedible lump and a burnt smell. The last time she had attempted to bake cookies, they had come out of the oven as black, rock-hard blobs.

With Teto's help, Miku was actually preparing something that people could eat. The dough that she was kneading was a silky, soft ball instead of a dry mess. She smiled, feeling a little proud of herself.

Teto peered at Miku's ball of dough. "Okay, I think that's enough now," she told her.

"What do I do with it?" Miku asked. She handed the dough to Teto.

"Now we've got to make the shape," Teto took a piece off of the dough ball. "We can't fit a giant loaf into your oven, so we're going to make a lot of little ones." She showed Miku how to shape the dough into a miniature loaf of French bread. The girls divided the dough into several small loaves and set them on a cookie sheet. Miku slid the cookie sheet into the oven with a sense of triumph.

"How long should it bake for?" Miku sat down at the table with Teto.

"That recipe said 20-25 minutes," Teto replied.

"Oh," said Miku. She and Teto sat in silence for a minute. Teto stared at the table and fidgeted. Miku fished desperately for something to say. Time ticked by, the silence growing more awkward by the second.

"So, why do you feel weird about being an UTAU?" Miku finally blurted out, her mind flashing back to their conversation earlier. She instantly regretted what she had said. "Sorry. That's probably a personal question."

"No, it's fine," Teto answered. She swung her leg back and forth. "I guess Vocaloids are just cooler. You're famous and rich. I've always thought you guys were amazing."

"But you don't have to be a Vocaloid to sing well," Miku said, wishing she hadn't asked that question.

"I don't know," Teto dusted flour off her skirt. "UTAU aren't really as well known, and we don't make much money. A lot of us have to get jobs." She shrugged.

Miku felt uncomfortable. She forced herself not to look at the now half-full bag of groceries still sitting on the table. She didn't really know how Teto was feeling. She'd always had everything because of her singing. She could barely remember the time back when she wasn't a star. What had she wanted to do back then?

Miku stood up with a flash of inspiration. "Let's go to the recording studio!" If Teto wanted to be famous, having a song done at the big glassy building would definitely make her more well known. Usually only celebrities went there, but Miku had a lot of influence. She was sure that she could persuade whoever was in charge to let Teto record her song.

"What?" Teto looked at Miku with wide eyes. "What about the bread? What are you talking about anyway?"

"After the bread's done, I'll take you to the recording studio!" Miku checked the clock. "There's only a few minutes left." The Vocaloid was practically bouncing up and down with excitement. She was sure that her idea would work. She had read on the Internet that it was many singers' dream to be able to record a song at that building. There was a superstition that most songs that came out of that place became hits.

"Wait, the recording studio? What?" Teto was completely lost. She was staring at Miku as if she had grown a second head.

"It's that big building down near the park," Miku peered into the oven window impatiently. "They'll let you record a song there if I ask them." She hoped that was true. She had never tried something like that before. Still, she was one of the most famous singers in the world, after all. She had to be able to do something, right?

"Me? Record a song there? But I…" Teto had passed that building before. She had seen the Vocaloids and other celebrities going in and out. She couldn't believe what Miku was saying.

"It'll be great! You've got a nice voice! And since it's near the park, we can bring the bread and go to the party afterward!" Miku's face was glowing with excitement. Teto, on the other hand, was openmouthed with astonishment. She wondered whether Miku was playing some kind of joke on her for a second, but dismissed the idea. She couldn't see Miku as being the type to do that.

"The bread's done!" Miku announced happily as a delicious smell drifted through the air. She pulled on oven mitts and brought out the loaves. "Thanks for helping me, Teto. This is the first time I've ever baked anything like this!" She stuffed the bread into a big bag as Teto looked on. "Come on! Let's go to the recording studio!" Miku grabbed Teto's hand and pulled her up out of her chair. Teto had no idea what was happening, but she went along with it anyway. Even if it was a joke, she would still have a good story to tell her friends.

Teto ended up standing with Miku inside of the huge building. The whole way there, she had hurried along beside Miku in a dazed state, not quite believing what was happening. She still couldn't believe it. She took out her phone and took a picture of her surroundings, sending it to her friends. They were very nice surroundings. Teto made sure to catch the company's logo in the picture.

_Miku took me to record a song here –Teto_

At the moment, Miku was talking with a man in a suit. Teto couldn't tell what she was saying, but Miku kept gesturing toward her. The man seemed very nervous. Teto checked her phone. Her friends had already replied.

_What? No way! This is a joke, rt? –Momo_

_Not believing you until I see proof –Uta Utane_

Teto smiled at the messages and put her phone away. Miku had overpowered the nervous man and was motioning for Teto to come over. Teto was led down a carpeted hallway towards the recording studio. As Miku was about to open the door, it opened from the inside. A girl with long brown hair and an uneasy expression stepped out. She was fidgeting anxiously with her pink scarf.

"Oh! Hi, Miku!" the girl said, a smile appearing on her face.

"Hi, Kokone!" Miku replied. "Did you just finish?"

"Yes. Who's this?" Kokone asked, looking inquiringly at Teto.  
"This is Teto!" Miku answered proudly. "She's my friend. I got them to let her record a song."

"Wow, are you a Vocaloid?" Kokone addressed Teto, who shrank a little.

"N-no," Teto squeaked out. "I'm an UTAU."

"UTAU?" Kokone didn't seem to know what that meant.

"We're like Vocaloids, but we don't cost anything." Teto wished she could sink into the floor. "I've never actually recorded a song…like this."

"Really?" Kokone perked up. "That was my first time too!" She leaned closer to Teto as if she was sharing a secret. "I'm a new Vocaloid, so I haven't really done anything yet. Everyone else seems so cool and experienced, and I haven't even had a concert!"

"Speaking of concerts, do you know whose concert we're celebrating tonight?" Miku interjected. "I was so worried about bringing food that I totally forgot." She gestured toward the bag of bread.

"It's actually two people," Kokone turned back toward Miku. "Anon and Kanon. Do you remember them? The twin girls."

"Oh yeah," Miku nodded. "The Kagamines were all ready to be their big brother and sister." She grinned. "Hey, what are you bringing to the party?"

"Me? I baked cookies," Kokone curiously regarded the bread bag. "What's in the bag?"

"Teto helped me make bread," Miku indicated Teto, who shrugged.

"I like baking," Teto mumbled.

"Me too!" Kokone's eyes shone. "We're like the same person!" Teto was quite surprised. They were like the same person? She tried to wrap her head around the fact that a Vocaloid was like her.

"Teto's got a really nice voice, too," Miku added. "She's kind of insecure about it, though."

"Can I come and hear you sing?" Kokone asked. "I bet that your voice actually does sound really good!" Her discomfort from earlier had completely vanished.

"Okay," Teto was astonished that there were two Vocaloids who wanted to hear her. Miku opened the door to the recording studio and let the other girls in.

"Do you know what song you want to do?" Miku asked Teto.

"Yes," Teto thought for a moment, hoping that this wasn't a dream. "I have a song called Fukkireta." She knew that Miku and Kokone had probably never heard of it before. She began the song anyway. The room seemed to fade away as she concentrated on singing.

When Teto finished singing, Miku and Kokone clapped for her.

"Was it okay?" Teto said.

"It was really good!" Kokone answered. "I bet that everyone will like it once it's out there!"

"See, Kokone thinks so too!" Miku patted Kokone's head. "Even if you're not a Vocaloid, you still sound amazing!" Teto smiled. Miku was right. Being an UTAU wasn't so bad after all. She turned to thank Miku, who was picking up the bag of bread.

"I guess you have to go to that party now," Teto remembered.

"What do you mean, 'you?'" Miku grinned at Teto. "You're coming too, right?"

"I am?" Even after all everything that had happened that day, Teto was still surprised.

"You helped me bake all this," Miku told her. "And you're our friend."

Teto took out her phone. "Can I bring some of my friends to the party too?"

"Sure!" Miku replied cheerfully. Teto sent out text messages. She wondered what the other UTAU would do when they read them.

* * *

**Note: **I was trying to make Teto an insecure person who got more confidence, but I don't know if it worked. Anyway, since I got a summer job, updates will probably be once a week, and on weekends.


	9. Chapter 4: IA and Yukari

Two girls were sitting across from each other at the food court in the mall. They were both Vocaloids, and occasionally were the subjects of curious stares because of their unusual appearances. At the moment, one of them was rather annoyed.

IA set her drink down on the table. A crumpling sound came from the paper cup, which she was gripping a little too tightly. She glared at her friend Yukari Yuzuki, who was quietly sipping her own drink.

"How can you be so calm?" IA demanded. "We've been waiting for fifteen minutes now!" She and Yukari were supposed to buying new clothes at the mall with SF-A2 Miki, who was currently absent. The absent-minded Miki had told them to meet her at the food court, but had never shown up. IA and Yukari had ended up eating lunch by themselves.

"Calm down," Yukari told IA. "This isn't the first time Miki's done this. She'll turn up eventually." It was true. As good-hearted as she was, Miki was notoriously flighty. When she went out shopping, she would find herself going into stores that had nothing to do with what her shopping list. The other Vocaloids had learned to put up with this, but it was harder for those like Yukari and IA, who lived with her and had to deal with Miki coming home with boxes of Pocky and animal magnets when she was supposed to be buying eggs.

After several more minutes of IA grumpily chomping on her straw and Yukari slurping from the drops at the bottom of her cup, Miki still hadn't shown up. Even Yukari was getting restless now.

"I'm going to call her," Yukari finally announced. She dialed Miki's number. IA sighed as she faintly heard Miki's voicemail. Of course she had her phone turned off. Yukari left a message. When she put her phone away, IA could practically feel the annoyance radiating off her.

Eventually, the girls decided that they had to go search for her. They started looking in the clothing stores, thinking that Miki might have gotten distracted by some sale or a cute outfit.

"Have you seen Miki?" IA asked one of the salespeople. Two of the good things about being a Vocaloid were that people usually didn't forget you, and they normally knew your name.

"Miki? Oh, the Vocaloid with the long red hair?" The girl shook her head. "But my friend might have. He said something about a redheaded girl who was kind of different." She took IA and Yukari to the doorway of the store and pointed. "He works over in there, in the shoe store. By the way, can I have your autographs?" The Vocaloids thanked her, signed her arm, and hurried over to the shoe store. It made sense. Miki liked clothes and shoes. IA asked around and found the boy who had seen her.

"Who?" the boy answered. Yukari explained to him who Miki was. "Oh," he shrugged. "Sorry, I'm not really into that stuff. There was a girl with red hair. She was wearing a weird outfit and got some black shoes from here. I think she went upstairs." He shrugged again.

As IA and Yukari rode up the escalator, IA was bothered by something the boy had said. "Hey, Yukari," she said to her friend. "That guy said that the girl he saw bought black shoes."

"So?" Yukari said. "What's weird about that?"

"Miki hates black," IA reminded Yukari. "She always wears white or blue. Maybe it's not actually her."

Yukari got off the escalator behind IA. "She might be changing her style? I don't know, but even if it isn't her, we might still run into her by accident." She smiled. "There can't be that many redheads running around here in weird outfits, right?"

"Yeah," IA was still worried. "But if we don't find her soon, we won't have time to get new clothes before we have to go home to get ready for the party." She had turned her head to look at Yukari. Suddenly, she glimpsed a wisp of red behind the other girl. "Yukari! Look, I think I see her!" Yukari spun around, surprised.

"What? Where?" Yukari saw a head with long red hair maneuvering through a crowd of teenagers. "Oh! I see her too!" Both girls took off running towards the redheaded figure.

* * *

**Note: **It's someone else who has long red hair...


	10. Chapter 4 part 2

IA was faster than Yukari, who was falling behind. Still, as they began to break out of the crowd, Yukari was able to see the back of the redheaded woman. By now she was pretty sure she wasn't Miki. This person was elegantly outfitted in a lacy black dress and hat, which didn't look like anything that Miki would ever wear. Yukari opened her mouth to tell IA, but she was already charging ahead at the unfortunate woman.

"Hey, Miki! Why'd you disappear like that? You made us wait for so long!" IA put her hand on the woman's shoulder. The woman whirled around indignantly, green eyes flashing. This definitely wasn't Miki.

"Excuse me?" the woman stared at IA. "My name's Ritsu Namine. I don't know who 'Miki' is."

"Oh," IA hurriedly took her hand off Ritsu's shoulder and backed away a little. "Sorry about that. You see, we've lost our friend, and she has red hair like you."

"Sorry, ma'am," Yukari added. She wondered if it would be rude to pull her rabbit-eared hood over her face. She usually didn't talk much around strangers, and she hated situations like this. IA was the outgoing, talkative one. Yukari preferred to hide behind her and fade into the background.

Ritsu was looking strangely at the two girls. "You know, you look familiar somehow. I swear I've seen you before." IA and Yukari glanced at each other. This had happened before, when people vaguely recalled them from videos and posters. It usually took a couple seconds before the person remembered who they were. "Wait a minute." Ritsu's face lit up with enlightenment. "You girls. Are you Vocaloids?"

"Yes," IA tried a smile. "I'm IA, and this is Yukari Yuzuki." She pointed at Yukari, who gave a little, nervous wave. "We're Vocaloid 3's." Yukari hoped that Ritsu wouldn't react strangely.

"Ha," Ritsu said. "I was wondering if I could find Vocaloids, and then they literally chase me down."

"You were looking for Vocaloids? Why?" IA asked. Ritsu produced a phone and brought up a picture, motioning for IA and Yukari to come closer. The picture showed a girl with curled red pigtails standing in a very familiar lobby.

"I think that's Miku," Yukari pointed out the superstar in the background. It seemed she was arguing with someone. "But who's that girl?" Neither IA nor Yukari had ever seen her before.

"She's Teto, my friend," Ritsu answered. "She sent a text with this picture." Ritsu showed the Vocaloids Teto's message.

_Miku took me to record a song here –Teto_

"What I wanted to know is whether this is fake or not," Ritsu informed IA and Yukari. "If you're Vocaloids, you should know where this is, right?"

"Yeah," IA nodded. "This is where we go to record our songs. And that really looks like Miku in the background."

"They don't let many photographers in, so there aren't that many photos," Yukari said. "I think it's a real picture." Yukari was puzzled over why Teto was allowed in in the first place. Then she factored in Miku's argument in the background. Maybe Miku was getting that man to let Teto sing? But when did Miku meet Teto in the first place? Miku would talk about anything, but she'd never mentioned meeting anyone like Teto.

"If Miku's getting them to let your friend record a song, she must be pretty good!" IA smiled. "I hope I get to hear her song soon."

"She is good," Ritsu turned off the phone. "She just has a few confidence issues. Maybe this'll help her with that. Thanks for the help."

"You're welcome," IA responded. "Hey, do you think you could help us as well? Have you seen a girl with long red hair walking around? She's pretty unusual looking, so she's hard to miss." Ritsu thought for a minute.

"I saw someone like that near the toy stores," Ritsu remembered. "She looked really….different." Ritsu made a strange face. "I've never seen a girl like her before."

"Thanks!" IA rushed off. "Come on, Yukari!"

"Thank you, ma'am," Yukari was still unsure. That description was too vague. She was going to ask for more details, but she noticed that Ritsu was smirking at her. "What?"

"I'm a guy," Ritsu said.

"Huh?"

"Yukari! Hurry up!" IA called impatiently, already halfway down the hall.

"Coming!" Yukari ran after her friend.

* * *

**Note: **So here is Ritsu, another UTAU. Sorry if they are OOC. I tried to put the personalities that were on the wiki, but my headcanon leaked in.


	11. Chapter 4 part 3

Walking toward the toy stores was like approaching a child's paradise. Everywhere, windows showed off piles of toys and games. A play area was decorated with giant statues of animals. Children excitedly ran about, eyes wide with amazement. When they saw IA and Yukari coming toward them, some tore themselves away from the stores and bounced up to the Vocaloids. A few asked them to sing a song.

"Sorry, we don't have time right now," IA told the children. "We're just here to find our friend. Did any of you see a girl with long red hair?" She figured that there wouldn't be that many teenagers in this place.

"A girl with red hair?" a little boy pointed towards a store with a pink and white sign over the door. "There's someone like that in there. She's all grown up like you."

IA and Yukari thanked the boy and headed to the store. It turned out to be devoted to Sanrio. As they entered, they were overwhelmed by a tidal wave of pink and white. Nearly everything from the stuffed animals on the shelves down to the tiles on the floor was pink or white. IA, with her pale pink hair, was almost camouflaged. She thought to herself that if Luka had come with them, she would have been invisible.

"They have everything," IA remarked to Yukari. "Look, there's candy, clothes, even a Hello Kitty helmet." She rapped on it with her knuckles. It moved.

"Huh?" The owner of the helmet, who had been kneeling, looked up. "Hey, what are you doing?" The girl, wearing all red, was almost invisible, surrounded as she was by an assortment of Hello Kitty purses, pillows, and shoes. IA noticed three things. This girl had reddish hair. She looked pretty unusual in her cat-eared helmet and Hello Kitty-themed outfit, so she was probably the one Ritsu and the boy had been talking about. She was also someone who IA and Yukari knew.

"Iroha?" Yukari blinked. "What are you doing here?" Iroha Nekomura was another Vocaloid, although IA and Yukari didn't know her very well. When they had met before, IA had seen the helmet and assumed that Iroha liked to play sports.

"You like Hello Kitty?" IA asked.

"Yes!" Iroha beamed. "Don't you? Hello Kitty is adorable! She's so cute, and she's such a nice person too!"

"She is cute, I guess," Yukari said. Iroha reached for a box without looking, pulling out a little rabbit doll.

"I saw your hood," Iroha waved the little rabbit's paw. "Do you like rabbits? This is My Melody." Yukari took My Melody from Iroha as carefully as if it was made of glass. IA rolled her eyes. Once Yukari saw a rabbit, she'd be totally distracted. She spent all her time at home playing with her pet rabbit. IA had even caught her trying to get Mayu to sell her bunny doll, Usano Mimi, which was pretty risky considering Mayu's yandere personality. Yukari was already spinning on the spot, looking all around the store for more rabbits.

"IA, we have enough time to look around a little, right?" Yukari's eyes were shining with excitement. "We can buy just a few things? Please?"

IA sighed and shook her head. "We have to find Miki. We only have an hour now. Sorry." She knew that if she let Yukari "look around a little," they'd never get out of the store.

Yukari deflated. "Okay, I'll just buy this then." She hurried over to the cash register with My Melody. Iroha watched her go and turned to IA.

"You're looking for Miki?" Iroha asked. "Did she disappear again?"

IA nodded. "I tried to call her, but her phone was turned off."

"I saw her going to the candy store."

"You did? Are you sure?" IA didn't want to be sent off on another wild goose chase.

"Yeah," Iroha said. "I remember her from her last concert. She has an astronaut-y dress and doll joints. She's hard to miss."

"You said that she was heading to the candy store?" IA checked. Iroha gave her a thumbs-up.

Yukari rushed back to IA and Iroha, clutching a small paper bag. "I'm done now." She glanced from one girl to the other. IA had a huge grin on her face. "Did something happen?"

"Iroha knows where Miki went!" IA announced happily.


	12. Chapter 4 part 4

Yukari and IA trailed after Iroha, who had decided to join them. Yukari felt rather drained. Their energetic new companion chattered nonstop, mainly about Hello Kitty. She pointed out any Sanrio merchandise she saw in the shop windows and explained how other fans saw it, what her own opinion on it was, how it was compared to other products, and how she'd use it if she got it. After the stores displaying Hello Kitty products started decreasing, Iroha started talking about her Hello Kitty room.

"And I got the cutest Hello Kitty rug, too! It's round and fluffy, with a red border, and the inside is all white. Except there's an adorable picture in the middle. You'd like it, Yukari! It's a picture of Hello Kitty giving My Melody a little yellow flower. It's so cute!" Iroha continued as the girls reached the candy store. Automatic doors whirred open, admitting them to a huge, white-tiled room filled with candy aisles, machines, and dispensers. Yukari smelled a sweet, fruity fragrance drifting through the air.

"So," IA said when Iroha paused to catch her breath. "We have a little less than an hour to find Miki here! Since this place is so big, I think we should split up and look in different places. What do you think?"

"That sounds like a good idea," Iroha answered cheerfully. She glanced around and pointed at a section full of crackers and cookies. "I'll go over there." She bounced away without waiting for an answer. IA looked at Yukari inquiringly.

Yukari shrugged. "It's a good idea."

IA flicked her long hair over her shoulder. "I'll head that way." She indicated a jumble of candy machines on the other side of the store. "Where are you going to go?"

"I don't know," Yukari replied. "I'll just look around, I guess." IA nodded and started off toward the candy machines. Yukari stayed where she was. The store was huge, and Miki could be anywhere. If she was Miki, where would she go?

Yukari remembered that Miki loved sweet things. The sweeter it was, the better it was. She wouldn't touch sour food with a ten foot pole. Thinking of this, Yukari decided that the sweetest flavor she could think of was cherry.

Yukari went up to the nearest salesperson. "Excuse me," she said. "Do you know where I can find cherry candy?"

"Cherry, huh? There's a lot of it in Aisle 9."

"Thank you." Yukari passed by rows of shelves, tipping her head back to count the numbers hanging from the ceiling. Aisle 9's number was decorated with little roses. Its shelves were stocked with chocolate and cherry sweets. Peering through the customers browsing the shelves, Yukari spied a familiar curl of red hair sticking up at the very end of the aisle.

Miki seemed intensely focused on rummaging through the packages before her. Yukari came and stood next to her unnoticed. She had one large bag of candy in each hand, and was frowning, apparently trying to decide which to take. Yukari examined the labels over her shoulder. Both cost the same, were cherry flavored, and were sickeningly sweet.

"I think maybe you should choose that one," Yukari suggested, indicating the slightly less syrupy-looking package. Miki gave a little gasp.

"Yukari? Why are you here? Wait a minute, do you know what the time is?"

Yukari turned on her phone. Miki read the number off the screen.

"It's already past 4?" Miki exclaimed loudly. Shoppers turned to stare. Yukari blushed red with embarrassment.

"You never showed up at lunch, so IA and I had to go look for you," Yukari explained, glad that her back was turned to the rest of the aisle. "She's in the candy machines. We have to go now."

"Huh? What? Now? But my candy…" Miki fumbled with the two packages and dropped one. Yukari took advantage of her confusion to drag her, protesting the whole time, away from the chocolates and cherries.

Yukari and Miki picked up Iroha, then went to search for IA. They found her in a very bad mood. It seemed that for the entire time, she had been bottling up her frustration. Now she unleashed it in a burst of anger. "So you mean to say," she ground out, "that you didn't meet up with us because you wanted to buy candy? And you've been here the whole afternoon?" Her blue eyes burned into Miki's red ones. "We were looking everywhere for you!" Iroha nodded sagely, hiding a bag of Hello Kitty crackers behind her back.

Miki held up her hands placatingly, but as she still clutched the package of cherry candy, it only made IA angrier. "It's not like that," Miki stammered.

"Then why?" IA put her hand on her hip and raised her eyebrows.

"I didn't have anything for tonight," Miki admitted. "I thought that I might be able to buy something instead of showing up at the party with nothing." She peeked out from behind the candy. "I'm sorry!"

"We would have helped you!" IA scolded. "Miki, next time this happens, at least leave your cell phone on, okay?" Miki made a little noise of recognition and put down the candy, searching all her pockets for her phone.

"I can't believe I left it at home," Miki said, shaking her head. She looked so astounded that Yukari couldn't stop herself from letting out a little puff of laughter.

"What? Why are you laughing?" Miki spun to face Yukari. Somehow, she appeared even more flabbergasted. IA's hard expression wavered. She struggled with herself, but she ended up cracking a smile. She sighed.

"Whatever. Let's go home. There's less than an hour to get ready." IA turned to Iroha, whose mouth was full of Hello Kitty. "If you want, Iroha, you can come to our house." Iroha made a muffled noise that Yukari interpreted as "Okay."

Miki went to pay for her cherry candy at the checkout line while IA tapped her foot impatiently. As Miki finished up, IA seemed to explode with energy. "Alright! Now we really, really have to go!" Yukari let herself be herded with Iroha and Miki as IA towed them all away.

* * *

**Note: **I think the next part will be the last part.


	13. Chapter 5: Gumi

Gumi struggled to lift the heavy pot of soup onto a table without spilling it onto the pristine white tablecloth. She was pleased, and a little surprised, at how warm it still was. Taking off the lid, she watched in satisfaction as a little steam rose up.

The sun was just about to go down, and it was beginning to get chilly. Gumi was glad that she'd grabbed her jacket as she left. She put the lid back on the pot and reluctantly took her hands away from its hot surface. Turning away from the table, she could see Anon and Kanon greeting the other Vocaloids arriving. Miku had just reached the top of this hill with some unfamiliar people. Gumi wondered who they. Maybe some of the new Vocaloid 3's. There were a lot of new people now.

Lights had been strung up between the trees. Luka, who had a remote in her hands, pressed a switch. One by one, the lights began to blink on. Gumi put her hands in her pockets. Should she go talk to Miku? But it might be weird if she didn't know any of those other people's names.

"Gumi?"

It was Rin. Len was behind her, carrying a bowl of fruit salad. Rin came to see what Gumi had brought.

"Soup," Gumi answered. "It's that big pot there."

Rin put her hands on the sides of the pot and sighed happily. "We were taking turns with that ice-cold fruit bowl. Hey, Len, touch this! It feels awesome!" Len put the fruit salad down on the table and touched the pot. Gumi, looking at the two warming their hands so happily, had to join them. She brought her cold hands out of her pockets and placed them on the pot. It looked kind of like a campfire, since they were all huddled around it, she thought.

A group of four was just arriving. Gumi recognized Kiyoteru, Yuki, and Ryuto. She didn't know that blond boy with them. Wait…

"Isn't that the English Vocaloid? Oliver? I thought you guys were supposed to be with him."

Len laughed uncomfortably. "Um. Things happened, and we got separated. Kiyoteru's probably more responsible than us, anyway."

"How did you get separated?" Gumi asked. Rin and Len were still in the same clothes they had been wearing that morning. There were several new stains, and the fabric was wrinkled. "You look like you were chased by hyenas or something."

"Or something." Rin quickly changed the subject. "By the way, have you been up the hill?"

"What hill?" This was a park. There were lots of hills. They were on one right now.

"There's this really big hill near here," Rin explained, using one hand to fix the crooked white ribbon in her hair. "If you go to the top, the view is amazing. I think some of the others are up there right now."

"Do you want to see it?" Len offered. "We'll go with you."

"Okay," Gumi agreed. "Where is it?"

Rin stopped touching the pot. "Come on!" She motioned for Gumi and Len to follow her and ran off to a little dirt path. "It's this way." She waited for the others to catch up.

The path wound between bushes and trees, eventually leading up the side of a tall hill. Gumi saw a few figures moving around at the top. She ran to catch up to Rin, who, Gumi thought, walked way too fast.

"Hey, where's Len?" Rin asked when Gumi caught up to her.

"Huh?" Gumi turned around and realized that Len wasn't with her. "He must have gotten left behind."

"I'll go get him," Rin looked uncomfortable without her constant companion. "You can go ahead without me," she called, already heading back down the path. Those two were inseparable, Gumi knew. She started up the hill.

The top of the hill was all orange from the setting sun. It reminded Gumi of carrots. She reached the top of the hill and stood for a few seconds to rest. There were already some other girls there. Yukari was taking pictures.

"Hi, Gumi!" IA waved. "Look at this!" Gumi walked up to the very top of the hill. The Kagamines had been right. The view was incredible. The sunset blazed all gold and orange, and Gumi could look out over the whole park. She could even see where the party was. The lights looked like little fireflies from up here. She took it all in, trying to etch the scene into her memory.

"I think I see the first star," Gumi smiled, pointing at a little spark of light. The other girls looked in the direction she was indicating.

"Wait, isn't that moving?" Miki piped up. Gumi squinted. It was.

"It isn't a plane," Gumi said. "A shooting star?"

"Awesome!" Iroha squealed. "Make a wish, everyone!"

Gumi didn't think it moved like a shooting star. It bobbed around and wobbled in weird directions. A UFO? It seemed to be getting bigger. What if it actually was a UFO? It wasn't wobbling so much now either.

"It's coming this way," Yukari's eyes were wide as she stopped taking pictures. "Maybe we should move?"

It didn't feel very real to Gumi as she and the other girls scrambled away from the top of the hill. A shooting star/UFO happening to come down right when they were there? What were the chances? But still, right before her eyes, that little spark grew into a big spark, got closer and closer, and slammed into a tree at the top of the hill with a loud boom.


	14. Chapter 5 part 2

The tree cracked and broke in two, one half toppling over and crashing to the ground. Gumi and the other girls cautiously came forward to gape at the jagged hole. Whatever it was that had just fallen out of the sky, it was something very small. The blackened hole in the tree trunk wasn't very large. In fact, it was only about the size of Gumi's fist.

"What happened? Is everyone alright?" Rin yelled. She and Len were frantically running up the side of the hill.

"Don't worry!" IA called back to them. "We're okay!"

"It looks like the others saw," Yukari said. Gumi looked down into the clearing where the party was. The other Vocaloids were pointing and staring up at the hilltop. They started to rush out of the clearing and up the path towards the hill.

Gumi turned back to see Iroha crouching by the side of the tree trunk, curiously reaching toward it. "No! Don't touch it!" Gumi shouted. What if it was radioactive or something? It wasn't a good idea to touch weird things from space, right?

"What if we do this?" Len proposed, taking a long stick from the ground. He gingerly poked it into the hole. "It feels kind of soft," he said, an odd look on his face.

"What if it's an alien?" Miki squeaked.

"No, that's silly," IA laughed nervously. But Gumi could see in everyone's worried faces that they were all thinking the same thing. After all, space rocks weren't soft. Living things were. And it was already strange enough that something had crashed down right where they were standing.

Len wiggled the stick around. "I can't get it out."

"I'll help," Rin found another stick. She walked around the tree trunk and used the stick to roll it so the hole faced toward Len. "Try it now." Len gently nudged whatever was in the hole until it flopped out. It definitely wasn't a rock.

"That looks like a person," Gumi couldn't believe it. The glowing blue thing lying on the ground looked like a girl, but she was so small that Gumi could probably pick her up with two fingers.

Gumi could hear shouts coming from far away. The other Vocaloids were coming to see if they were all okay.

"What should we do?" Gumi wondered aloud. She didn't think they should leave the girl there on the ground. "Do you think it's safe to touch…her?" She looked around. Everyone seemed as unsure as she was.

"Look!" Iroha had crouched down again to see the tiny figure again. "She's moving." The group crowded around. The little girl was stirring. Slowly, she sat up, checking to see if her arms and legs were working correctly.

"Ow," the girl said. Her voice was high, and so soft that it almost was a squeak. She rubbed her back with one hand. Suddenly appearing to notice the Vocaloids all around, she froze, petrified.

Rin took charge. She knelt down and reassured the girl, "Don't worry. We won't hurt you." She held out a hand. The girl hesitated, then stepped cautiously onto Rin's palm. Rin carefully stood, bringing her hand up to chin level. The girl stared at each face worriedly.

"What's your name?" Rin inquired.

"I'm Lapis. Aoki Lapis," said the girl, clinging to Rin's fingers. She still looked terrified. Gumi realized how gigantic they must seem to her.

"Well," Rin used her free hand to indicate each person. "We're IA, Yukari, Gumi, Iroha, Miki, and Len. And I'm Rin. You're going to be fine with us." She talked in a careful, friendly tone.

"Wow. You actually sound kind of mature," Len commented. Rin gave him a look. He grinned back.

Right then, someone puffed up the hill and stood there panting, teal hair flying everywhere. Miku had apparently run all the way from the picnic area to the top of the hill. She finally caught her breath and looked up, eyes wild.

"Nobody's hurt? We saw there was an explosion! Are you all okay?" she blurted out breathlessly. She looked from person to person, calming down only when she was convinced that they were all fine. Relieved, she visibly relaxed.

"Rin, what's that in your hand?" Miku asked. Lapis tried to hide behind Rin's cupped fingers.

"It's okay," Rin told Lapis soothingly. "Miku's our friend." Lapis peeked out timidly. Miku leaned a little closer.

"Rin, am I hallucinating, or is that a tiny person?"

As Rin was assuring Miku of her sanity, the rest of the Vocaloids reached the top of the hill. There were suddenly people everywhere. Everyone was shouting, trying to be heard over the others. Lapis crouched down and covered her ears. Gumi felt like doing the same thing.

"People!" IA yelled, climbing up onto the stump of the fallen tree. "We're all okay! Let's just go back to the picnic area and sort things out there!" Gumi remembered that IA had gotten a new voicebank, making her voice stronger. It carried over the crowd, which quieted down. The Vocaloids, murmuring among themselves, shuffled off the hill, going back to the picnic area. Rin led the way.

Soon, the Vocaloids had calmed down, and were gathered around Rin, who sat down, Lapis still cupped in her hand. The tiny girl refused to leave Rin.

"So, where did you come from, Lapis?" Rin prompted.

"Um," Lapis replied hesitantly. "I'm a fairy." For just a second, Gumi saw a pair of blue wings flash on Lapis's back. They faded, and Lapis continued. "I only just started learning to fly. My big sister's teaching me. The sunset made everything orange, and I got turned around. Then I got confused and crashed into a tree." She looked around nervously. "I've never been around Big People before."

"Don't worry," someone in the crowd said. Gumi tried to figure out who spoke. She was surprised when little Yuki came forward. "We're just normal people like you." Lapis looked curiously at the young girl, who held out a finger, smiling. Lapis shook the finger. "I'm Yuki Kaai," Yuki said.

While this was going on, Gumi saw a flash of purple out of the corner of her eye and started in surprise. Everyone else was focused on Yuki and Lapis, and hadn't noticed at all. Gumi tapped Miku's shoulder, but she didn't react. Iroha, the next closest person, was squealing over how cute the scene was. Gumi felt that she had to find out what the light was. She tried to remember where it had gone, then ran in its general direction.

There was a trail leading to the flash. Gumi tried not to touch the plant parts that glowed faintly purple. She wasn't sure whether that purple glow was harmless or not. Lapis glowed blue, a little, but that glow didn't stick to things like this purple light did. Gumi pushed leaves and branches out of her way, forcing herself between bushes. She tried not to think of insects or poison ivy. It didn't work.

The purple trail ended at a floating purple ball. It shone brightly, its light making everything look purple. She squinted and could make out a small humanoid shape in the middle of the ball.

"Can you turn down that light a little?" Gumi asked the ball, deciding not to be surprised anymore. "I can't really see." Remembering how Lapis had arrived, she figured that this must be another fairy.

The ball flickered and vanished, leaving behind the person, who still glowed a little. "Oh, sorry," the person apologized. "It was dark, so I was using it to light my way." The fairy stopped hovering and touched down on the ground. She abruptly sprouted into a dark-haired girl a little taller than Gumi. "Why aren't you surprised to see me?"

"Another one of you just crashed near us. It's okay, she's fine. We brought her back to the picnic area where we were. Her name is Lapis. Do you know her?"

"Lapis is my sister," the fairy said. "My name is Merli. Can you take me to her?"

"Of course," Gumi replied. "I'm Gumi, by the way." She could still see Merli's purple trail marking the trees, and followed it until she knew where to go. The picnic area ahead shone like a beacon with all the lights strung up about it.

Gumi pushed herself out of some bushes, Merli close behind. Most of the Vocaloids were still focused on Lapis, especially the younger ones. There were a few groups milling around, looking worried. Gumi wondered why.

Miku caught sight of Gumi and broke away from one of the groups. "Where were you?" she asked. "Nobody knew where you went!" She noticed Merli behind Gumi. "Who are…oh! Are you Lapis's sister?"

"How did you know?" Merli asked.

"She told us all about you," Miku answered. "You fit her description perfectly!" By now, the Vocaloids clustered about Lapis had begun to notice the newcomer. The crowd dissolved, leaving a clear line of sight for Lapis. The little blue fairy perked up and flew as fast as she could to her sister.

"Really, what am I going to do with you?" Merli sighed. "Here." She tapped a gem Lapis was wearing on her head. The smaller girl dropped to the ground and grew to the size of a human. Lapis, now bigger, turned to the Vocaloids.

"Thank you so much, for everything," Lapis smiled gratefully, holding onto her sister's hand tightly.

"We're sorry for disturbing you," Merli added. "It looks like we crashed your party."

"Really, there's no problem!" Miku said. "Actually, if you have time, you could stay." Gumi observed that Miku, as always, somehow managed to capture everyone's attention. Nobody else said a word, not even bubbly Iroha.

Lapis turned her face up to Merli's, clutching her sleeve. "Can we?"

Later, Gumi ended up sitting with Rin and Len on a rock, looking up at the night sky. Two sparks of light, one blue and one purple, darted across the moon, tracing little glowing swirls. Merli and Lapis were showing off for the younger Vocaloids, who were fascinated by them. Yuki had been insisting that she'd always known fairies were real.

"On this kind of night, shouldn't we have fireworks?" Rin mumbled with her mouth full.

Len dusted little crumbs of French bread off his clothes. "Isn't that kind of cliché?"

"Shut up," Rin elbowed Len playfully.

Gumi lay back against the rock, watching Lapis write letters in the sky. "I don't know," Gumi stretched out her arms. "Don't they count as fireworks?"

Rin swallowed and let herself flop backwards. "Maybe. They're sparkly."

"By the way, you never told me what happened this morning," Gumi commented.

"Before you worry about that, shouldn't you watch out for your food?" Len said quickly. "It looks like it's about to fall over." He reached out and steadied the bowl of fruit that was wobbling dangerously on Gumi's stomach. Gumi, distracted for the moment, lifted the bowl off and set it beside her.

Down on the ground, Yuki and Ryuto were jumping, trying to reach high enough to swipe their hands through the fairies' trails. Oliver stood to the side, trying to work up the nerve to join them. A little way away, Miku was introducing Teto and the UTAUs to IA, Yukari, Miki, and Iroha, the newest addition to IA's group of close friends. Yuuma was sitting with Kaito and Gakupo, who were trying to persuade him to try one of Kaito's homemade ice cream bars. Mizki stood by a table, chatting with Kokone.

Back on top of the rock, Rin pulled on the back of Len's shirt. He fell backwards with a little yelp, struggling to get up again.

"Relax a little," Rin commanded. Len quieted down and obeyed, leaning back and putting his arms behind his head.

Gumi folded her hands over her belly. "A lot of stuff happened today, didn't it?"

Rin followed the little trails in the sky with her eyes. "Yeah, I guess so."

* * *

**The End**.

So I finished this just before school started. Thank you for reading it!


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